Main Entry: hab·it
Pronunciation: hab-t
Function: noun1: a costume characteristic of an occupation, rank, or function <her riding habit> <a nun's habit>2: a usual manner of behavior or thinking <his habit of taking a morning walk>3: a way of behaving that has become fixed by being repeated often -- compare 1REFLEX 14: characteristic way of growing or occurring <elms have a spreading habit>synonymsHABIT, PRACTICE, USAGE, CUSTOM mean a way of acting that has become fixed through repetition. HABIT suggests doing something without thinking about it because one has done it so often <had a habit of tapping his fingers>. PRACTICE suggests an act performed regularly and usually by choice <our practice is to go to the park every Sunday>. USAGE suggests a practice followed by so many that it becomes the accepted practice of society <what a word means in common usage>. CUSTOM applies to an act so long and continuously associated with an individual or group that in effect it becomes an unofficial rule <the custom of many is to eat turkey on Thanksgiving>.